Chapter 326 - 314: Jade Marrow Pill
Chapter 326: Chapter 314: Jade Marrow Pill
"To think there’s Spiritual Qi in such a low-level small world."
The old man named Song Mu took a deep breath, a shadow flashing in his eyes.
"The Spiritual Qi isn’t dense enough. It should be called Primordial Qi, really. But even so, it’s enough to nurture many potential cultivators."
High-level cultivators could gauge the general level of a world based on its Spatial Law alone.
Generally speaking, the lower a world’s level, the stronger its suppression of high-level cultivators. This was a world’s self-protection mechanism.
Otherwise, any random cultivator could arrive in a low-level world and wipe out all life within it.
The cultivation of the three Earth Dark Sect cultivators was at the Foundation Establishment and Purple Mansion Realms, so they could easily sense this world’s suppression on them.
"According to the testimony of a Chenghua Sect cultivator who defected to our sect many years ago, there is a small, populated world in Nanhe Province. It’s filled with mortals but has very little Spiritual Qi. This must be the place."
One of the three was a woman with an exquisite bird pattern embroidered on her clothes. She parted her lips to speak, her voice melodious and graceful, tinged with a captivating charm.
"Little Spiritual Qi?"
Song Mu snorted. "For a world this vast to have this much Spiritual Qi... this is anything but simple."
"If that person was telling the truth, then it’s obvious the Chenghua Sect must have been continuously injecting Spiritual Qi into this small world."
"You saw it yourselves that day. A massive amount of Spiritual Qi poured in through the space-time rift. I suspect it was drawn from a Spirit Vein."
The brawny man curled his lip. "To think the Chenghua Sect would undertake such a laborious task. They’re certainly willing to spare the expense."
"It must be to replenish their manpower. The Chenghua Sect lost many cultivators in the great war a thousand years ago."
Song Mu sneered, "No wonder the number of their cultivators has been growing so fast these past few years. So that’s the reason."
"From my perspective, this small world is almost fully nurtured. From now on, the number of mortals born with Spiritual Roots will only increase. If this continues, it will become a great menace!"
As he spoke, his expression darkened. "This is bad. This is very bad!"
The brawny man nodded vigorously. "Elder Song Mu is right. Our Earth Dark Sect cultivators are so exceptional, yet we are confined to islands with scarce Spirit Veins. We don’t have a single small world as vast as this one."
Elder Song Mu chuckled. "Rest assured, Mr. Hizuki. Sooner or later, we will claim this small world for our own and provide our clan with an endless supply of cultivators."
"And the mortals here... they can become our blood food."
"Elder Song Mu is brilliant!"
"Yes, that day will come sooner or later!"
The three exchanged a look and burst into laughter in unison, startling countless birds into flight.
...
Ten days passed in a flash, and it was time to return to the sect.
Zhao Lin set out before dawn, quietly leaving Yongning City.
He followed his original path back to Three Mountains Island, where he regrouped with the other cultivators who had been visiting family and boarded a Spiritual Vessel back to the Xuanyuan Continent.
In less than a day, he was back at the Spirit Dao Institute.
At the start of the new year, most of the senior disciples who had completed their three years of study were assigned to other counties. Some remained in the local county to work, entering various professions based on the Daoist arts they had cultivated.
A few other disciples chose to stay at the Spirit Dao Institute to continue their studies, preparing to become teaching disciples or deacons.
Han Chi County had an especially large intake of new disciples this year. The small world alone contributed thirty-six youths with Spiritual Roots, and Nanhe Province itself provided another thirty, for a total of nearly seventy people.
According to the Transmission Elder, the number of disciples discovered in the other eight small worlds was also much higher than in previous years.
Zhao Lin, however, didn’t pay much attention to these matters. His mind was entirely focused on his cultivation.
His cultivation was now at the peak of the Qi Refining Second Layer, and he had reached a minor bottleneck. It was the perfect time to take that Jade Marrow Pill, making the best use of a valuable resource.
To focus completely on his breakthrough, Zhao Lin requested a training chamber from the Transmission Elder and entered seclusion to break through to the Qi Refining Third Layer.
For a cultivator, entering seclusion meant cultivating for an extended period in an enclosed space.
Free from worldly distractions, one focuses solely on cultivation, completely cut off from the outside world. In this extreme state, the body’s potential can be maximized.
The bottlenecks between each layer in Early-stage Qi Refining are considered minor, requiring at most ten days to half a month of seclusion.
But for major realm breakthroughs like Foundation Establishment, Purple Mansion, or Golden Core, seclusion could easily last for several months or even years.
Zhao Lin entered the training chamber, closed the stone door, took out the Jade Marrow Pill, and studied it for a moment before swallowing it in one gulp.
The medicinal power of the Jade Marrow Pill was incredibly potent. As soon as he swallowed it, a powerful medicinal force erupted within him.
The pill’s properties contained a massive amount of life force from the water and wood elements. This vigorous life force coiled around his spine, repeatedly washing over it like a torrential downpour.
After a short while, Zhao Lin felt a tearing sensation deep within his spine, as if a seed were taking root and sprouting inside.
It extended upward from the base of his spine, continuously gathering strength.
This bit of pain was nothing to Zhao Lin. After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, his spine felt like it was on fire, and his four Spiritual Root nodes, in particular, became unbearably swollen and painful.
Just when Zhao Lin thought it would continue for much longer, a ray of Spiritual Light shot straight to the crown of his head. Immediately after, a brand-new Spiritual Root node burst forth!
The newly born Spiritual Root node was semi-translucent and light blue, not as solid as the original four.
This was normal, as it was only a temporarily condensed Spiritual Root node, not one he possessed naturally.
’Good, that went smoothly!’
Zhao Lin slowly exhaled and tried to circulate his energy, absorbing the Spiritual Qi from his surroundings.
With one more Spiritual Root node, his speed of absorbing Spiritual Qi was at least thirty percent faster than before—an unprecedented experience.
’No wonder high-grade Spiritual Roots allow for such fast cultivation. The effect is instantaneous.’
Zhao Lin clenched his fists, a flash of joy in his eyes.
Five Spiritual Root nodes meant that for the next month, he would temporarily possess the talent of a high-grade Spiritual Root.
One could only imagine what an Earth Grade Spiritual Root would be like.
’I must make good use of this one month.’
Zhao Lin sat cross-legged and began to circulate his energy to open his acupoints.
Having absorbed the Pipa Catfish’s Essence Soul, Zhao Lin could recklessly assault his Spiritual Acupoints. Even if he was injured, he would recover quickly without any hidden damage.
Unconsciously, a day passed, then two, then three...
On the morning of the fourth day, a soft POP sounded from within his body as his twenty-fifth acupoint opened.
’Qi Refining Third Layer!’
Zhao Lin excitedly opened his eyes and casually cast an Ice Blade Skill. He could feel that the Spiritual Power within him was much more abundant than before.
Don’t underestimate it being just one more Spiritual Acupoint. It meant his cultivation had risen by a layer—a quantitative change leading to a qualitative one.
For the same Magic, the speed of Mana delivery and its duration had both increased by a level.
Upon reaching the Qi Refining Third Layer, one could practice Magic to the proficiency level.
However, Zhao Lin wasn’t in a hurry to upgrade his Magic. He was currently cultivating at the Spirit Dao Institute and didn’t need to worry about his safety. Even if he reached the proficiency level, he would have nowhere to use it. If he accidentally revealed his hand, it would be difficult to explain.
He left the training chamber just as the sky began to show the fish-belly white of dawn.
Zhao Lin returned to his residence and cooked more than half a jin of Spirit Rice to replenish his energy from the past few days. After daybreak, he went to the Spirit Dao Institute’s Transmission Hall.
Coincidentally, today was the day to choose a Daoist art.